Consumer outrage about the plastics crisis is already commanding attention from big companies and from many governments. Lizzie Carr is shining a light on what is floating through the worlds waterways, and breaking athletic records along the way. Author: floridadep.gov. Exposure to microplastics, as well as the chemicals that are added to plastics during processing, harm our health. What never leaves, Read More Sustainable Diving & Snorkeling: How to Prevent Damage to Marine EcosystemsContinue, Top 3 Ways Kids can Help the Earth! State Disclosures. Some companies are taking initiative on their own. And will a plastic straw ban actually be effective when it comes to saving our oceans and environment? Do you also have that overflowing kitchen drawer full of plastic bags you bring from your shopping trips? By comparison, an estimated 46 percent of all pollution in the ocean is made up of lost or abandoned fishing gear (Vox). Well, a possible alternative solution could be to encourage businesses to only give out plastic straws on request. Unfortunately, such a high level of pollution doesnt come without consequences. The answer isnt as simple as you may think: While its true that paper straws arent as harmful as plastic straws, this doesnt mean that, Read More Paper vs. Here's a quick list of the ways plastic straws may be harming your health: 1. Have some dirty clothes that you just wore today? The upshot of the Sydney study is that the California bag ban reduced plastic bag consumption by 71.5% - a huge decrease. Thus, plastic straws cant be recycled. Plastics also permeate freshwater systems like rivers and streams. Sea turtles are not the only species suffering from plastic bag pollution of the environment. You probably already saw the video, but if you didnt, you can watch it below (WARNING: Graphic Content): Supporters of plastic straw bans claim that the ban will help reduce our use of single-use plastics. There are definitely differing opinions on whether or not plastic straws should be banned. A plastic straw ban would serve to reduce the number of plastic straws entering the ocean. Beyond the costs associated with the production and purchasing of plastic bags by retailers, there are many external costs that are often not considered. 10 reasons why plastic straws should be banned. Start from yourself and slowly expand to your family and friends. Though plastica chain of synthetic polymers, essentiallywas invented in the mid-19th century, it wasnt until the 1970s that its popularity skyrocketed. As a result, the ban will reduce the number of plastic straws polluting the ocean. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Using these non-renewable resources to make plastic bags is very short-sighted, considering that the typical useful life of each plastic bag is about 12 minutes and that the worlds oil reserves contain enough oil to cover our needs through 2050, as the U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates. Ms. LISA PAI . Tangled in trees and fences along roads, floating in water, lying on the ground in parks and forests, surrounding garbage bins, washed off on beaches. Plastic bags and plastic products overall contain substances that are harmful to our health. For many of us it is hard to imagine that something as small as a plastic bag can actually cause flooding, but residents of some cities in Bangladesh have been struggling with this problem every monsoon season for the past two decades [3]. Some opposers of the plastic straw ban say that a ban is unlikely to actually help the environment, as plastic straws do not make up a large percentage of plastic in the ocean. The country instituted the ban in 2013 to minimize livestock deaths. For wildlife, microplastics can be particularly dangerous; when eaten they can easily accumulate inside an animals body and cause health issues, like punctured organs or fatal intestinal blockages. We shouldnt ban plastic straws if it creates an accessibility issue. Similar fate has met dolphins, seals, cats, dogs, deer and many other animals which got severely cut on their bodies due to plastic bag entanglement. Scientists have recorded some species of zooplankton eating tiny plastic particles. Once in the ocean, plastic pollution is extremely dangerous to marine life, and plastic straws are no exception. Even human footprints left in the sand represent mountain-like obstacles in their path and waves washing up on the beach are another challenge, as they thrust them back on the dry land to try once again before finally being picked up by a return current and start swimming for their life. You as an individual have the power to make a gradual change in your community. Plastic waste, mostly broken down into tiny particles, floats in huge blobs amid ocean current patterns called gyres that together cover as much as 40 percent of Earths ocean surface. For the oceans sake, wed better hope so. They contribute to the contamination of our landfills and seas when they are discarded after use. We need to make fully biodegradable polymers that are cost-competitive. Plastic utensils are convenient and straws are fun for kids, but much of that plastic eventually winds up in a landfill or as litter. Have you ever seen endangered sea turtles hatch? Skip the Straw - Florida Department of Environmental Protection Which brings us to the second part. The cashier usually understands, only had to do what instructed and what most customers expect (unfortunately) from him or her. Hi, Im Hugh, and my mission with Get Green Now is to raise awareness of environmental issues and teach people how to live sustainably. But this comes along with many unanswered questions. Stanford experts discuss the limitations of these bans and the potential for meaningful change.
Why are Plastic Straws Bad and What are the Alernatives? New and sustainable business models are needed to address the current plastic deluge and also to enable a new generation of sustainable materials and technologies. But a whopping 91 percent of all plastic isnt recycled at all. What Is Plastic Made Of And How Is It Manufactured? One recent survey found plastics in 94 percent of tap water samples in the U.S. and in nearly every brand of bottled water. According to some estimates, the cost of plastic bag cleanup is about 17 cents per bag [14] and the cost is paid by us once again. There are some great initiatives that strive to provide jobs for women in rural communities with limited possibilities of securing monthly income. And, if you dont like wearing the same shirt or pants, Read More Dont wash it if it doesnt look dirtyContinue, At age 50, Kay is a little over halfway through her life as a driver. Straws have been found stuck in a sea turtle's nose and wedged in the stomachs of dead birds and dolphins. They're bad for the environment, kill marine life and damage human health. Using a straw directs a concentrated stream of liquid onto a localized area of the teeth, which can cause the enamel to wear away and lead to dental disease. Straws don't provide as much utility as bags, so for many this is an easy adjustment. This blog covers a variety of topics including plastic pollution, renewable energy, electric vehicles, and much more. Such changes could have outsized benefits for vulnerable populations that rely on rivers for their water supply. Plastic straws (like most plastic) are non-biodegradable, meaning that it cant be naturally broken down by decomposers. Why?
Why Plastic Bags And Straws Should Not Be Banned Heres everything you need to know about the most ubiquitous (and avoidable) kind of plastic waste: the kind made to be tossed in mere minutes. Each day, the United States of America uses 500 million drinking straws. Additionally, plastics in our digestive tract may affect absorption of some important trace elements (like iron) which we need for maintaining proper health [13]. When you sip beverages through a straw you end up inhaling more air into your belly than you would otherwise. We will What does occur in most instances is that when out in the environment, the plastic breaks up into tiny microscopic pieces that get deposited in soils (where we grow food) or contaminate waterways. To date, around 60 countries and municipalities around the world have instituted plastic bag bans, and additional seven countries are planning to enforce the law in the closest future. And when it comes to waste that lasts forever, every ton counts. 2. This means that you need to first educate yourself about the problem. If there is one piece of advice that everyone should remember, it would be that nothing is for free in this world.
Single-Use Plastics 101 | NRDC Please share this message with your friends so that together, we can tackle our global plastic problem. Some Disabled People Require Plastic Straws to Drink For some people with disabilities, straws are the only way they can drink. Low rated: 2. Problematic degradation 4. Some Disabled People Require Plastic Straws to Drink For some people with disabilities, straws are the only way they. In 2015 researchers from the University of Georgia estimated that between 4.8 million and 12.7 million metric tons of plastic per year make their way into the oceans via people living within 30 miles of a coast. The subtropical gyres of the North Pacific Ocean are also documented to contain the highest concentrations of plastic. New research shows their prolific dam building benefits river water quality so much, it outweighs the damaging influence of climate-driven droughts. [PDF] Skip The Straw - 10 Reasons Fact Sheet - Kids. In New York, 23 billion plastic bags are used by residents each year. Made from petroleum products, Baekland's " bakelite " plastic was a revolutionary material. Better alternatives are available 10. JIM LEAPE: Our oceans are currently swimming with plastics. Even if plastic doesnt end up in the ocean, recycled plastic is often exported from high-income countries to developing countries to process. Even if you can't go zero waste entirely, it's high time we all ended our reliance on single use plastics. And cracker plantswhich break, or crack, ethane molecules, a component of natural gas, into the chemical building blocks of plastic productsare energy intensive and highly polluting. Car Recycling: Everything You Need to Know (With Statistics), Sustainable Diving & Snorkeling: How to Prevent Damage to Marine Ecosystems, What Are Microplastics and Why Are They a Concern? These examples could go on for a long time. Paper straws cannot be recycled in any way. Why is plastic bad for the environment? If the answer is yes, you should know that this inadvertent overconsumption of single-use plastic carries with it a very high cost to the environment, which in turn also negatively affects our health. Affiliate Disclaimer: Some links on this site may be referral or affiliate links. Try reusable and compostable beeswax wrap for an easy and decorative option.
Once the wheel starts spinning, it leads to even more positive changes. Alternatives to plastic straws, such as paper, may not always be effective for disabled people: paper can be bitten through or broken easily. Such materials already exist in nature.
Banning Straws and Bags Won't Solve our Plastic Problem Unfortunately, such costs are typically not included in most economic analyses, as they are not easy to calculate because the equation would have to involve many indirect variables. Considering what important source of food plankton is for many other species, it is clear that plastic gets distributed across the marine ecosystem.
TOP 10 10 reasons why plastic straws should be banned BEST and NEWEST For example, a reusable jute bag should last at least 4 years, during which it can prevent the use of 600 single-use plastic bags. Alarmingly, scientists estimate that there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean by weight in 2050. Plastic bags floating in the ocean resemble jellyfish, one of the main sources of food for some species of sea turtles, especially the critically-endangered Leatherback turtles. These steps are pretty straight forward and depend on your own initiative.
Policies like bottle bill lawswhich generally require retailers to add a fee on individual bottles, which can then be partially redeemed by customers when they recycleare a way to increase corporate responsibility for waste while providing a monetary incentive to recycle. We use them to drink beverages at home and we get them at almost every restaurant. Without proper education, few people would know the purpose of the ban, and they would continue using other single-use plastics which could be even worse for the environment. Polyethylene terephthalate, one of the most commonly recycled plastics and the material that makes up most water and soda bottles, can be turned into everything from polyester fabric to automotive parts. Over time, sun and heat slowly turn plastics into smaller and smaller pieces until they eventually become what are known as microplastics. In this essay on should plastic be banned, it is very important to put forth the fact that there are many bodies of health and environmental governance around the world who argue that plastic ban can be problematic stating the following reasons-. Fortunately, microorganisms can also use cheap, renewable substrates, such as food wastes, biogas methane, carbon dioxide and renewable hydrogen. A Ban Could Harm Local Businesses If Its Plastic Incineration. This ban has led to an increase in the demand for sustainable plastic alternatives and has also created space for several plant-based materials in the market. They suspect that it may add stress on the liver by introducing more pathogens into the body. Plastic bags being the major component of the trash thrown away, most of it ends up on the streets. Plastic straws are also the 6th most common trash item found during ocean cleanups. PLASTIC STRAWS CANT BE BROKEN DOWN BY NATURE. Single-use plastics in particularespecially small items like straws, bags, and cutleryare traditionally hard to recycle because they fall into the crevices of recycling machinery and therefore are often not accepted by recycling centers. Harmful to human health 6. However, one thing we know, is that by introducing a pollutant that may never break down in the environment can have implications that will far exceed any of our predictions. A wave of single-use plastic bans is sweeping the country and the globemost often on plastic bags, straws, stirrers, and takeout clamshells. What to do with plastic bags you already have at home?
Reasons why smoking should be banned articlestrabajos Greentumble was founded in the summer of 2015 by us, Sara and Ovi. While we may not pay for plastic bags directly when we go shopping, they are anything but free.. The majority of this pollutiondominated by single-use plastic wastecomes from countries lacking infrastructure to properly manage waste, particularly in Asia. This includes waste collection, regular cleanups to remove plastic bag litter along the roads or blown away from landfills and then even processing at landfill sites. The bottom line of any plastic ban is that we must use less single-use plastics overall. Ideally, to be suitable for recycling, bags need to be clean to be accepted, which is often a problem, considering that we use them to carry groceries and potentially leaky goods. Plastic bags are a convenient way to carry our purchased goods when we go shopping. Communities and consumers can play vital roles in sparking action. A calf had to be put down because of indigestion caused by 8 plastic bags in its stomach. Such is the case with many environmental crises: the worst effects are pushed onto overburdened communities with the fewest resources to fight back. In fact, plastic bags are considered by many recycling facilities the number one contaminant and their removal from the recycling stream costs municipalities close to $1 million a year [18]. The first is to invest in better waste collection in the handful of countries that account for most of the plastic flowing into the ocean. On their long journey, they will encounter many difficulties and only a small portion of them will survive. We produce 300 million tons of plastic each year worldwide, half of which is for single-use items. You need to know what effects plastic bags have on the environment and health. If environmental zealots and sycophants get their way, you won't be allowed to sip it through a plastic straw. So, for example, companies need to not only make products that are recyclable, but actually make them out of recycled or truly biodegradable material. by TFK Kid Reporter Maria Suarez, 10 Bellaire, Texas Plastic straws should not be banned until we can find alternatives that are affordable, environmentally friendly, and acceptable for disabled people. You should examine what alternatives are available and whether local retailers, who often operate with a limited monthly budget, have the ability to make the switch. What Does the Plastic Bag Ban Mean for New Yorkers? They are also not biodegradable and cannot be broken down naturally by bacteria and other decomposers into non-toxic materials. In fact, plastic straws only make up around 0.03 percent of total plastic waste by mass. As a result, they are thrown away and frequently wind up in the ocean, where they pollute the water and eventually kill marine birds, animals, and fish. The most heartbreaking part of this is that the affected animals are not aware they eat something that will make them feel miserable and will slowly kill them. Not only does banning single-use plastic reduce pollution, but it also reduces demand for plastic production thats contributing to global climate change. This is because the customers voluntarily reduce their consumption of plastic bags, which in turn provides enough time for retailers to find suitable alternatives and switch to them. Large producers of single-use plastics can make a big environmental impact. Since plastic bag recycling requires a specialized equipment that can break down the plastic and mold it into a new product, most municipalities do not have the budget to include their recycling in their waste management program. Put simply, single-use plastics are goods that are made primarily from fossil fuelbased chemicals (petrochemicals) and are meant to be disposed of right after useoften, in mere minutes. Its possible that using a plastic straw would make it easier for you to drink without spilling, but the long-term expenses are not worth it.